John Nance Garner
'John Nance Garner '(22 November 1868 - 7 November 1967) was Vice President of the United States from 1933 to 1941 (succeeding Charles Curtis and preceding Henry Agard Wallace). Biography John Nance Garner was born in Red River County, Texas. He attended Vanderbilt University for one semester before studying law and getting admitted into the bar in 1890; he mainly practiced law in Uvalde County, Texas. In 1893, he ran for the county judge of Uvalde County and won the primary election against Mariette Rheiner, who he married in Sabinal, Texas, two years later. Garner served as the county judge until 1896. In 1898, he won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives and was re-elected in 1900. He passionately supported the prickly pear cactus as the state flower for Texas, that earned him the nickname "Cactus Jack". In 1901, Garner voted for the poll tax, a measure that effectively made voter registration more difficult. In 1902, he was elected to the US House of Representatives from the 15th congressional district of Texas (serving from 4 March 1903 to 4 March 1933, and preceding Milton H. West), and he won the elections to that position 14 times after the initial election. His wife served as his private secretary during his time as a representative of the 15th congressional district of Texas. In 1931, he was chosen as the Speaker of the House when the Democrats gained majority. Garner was supportive of the income tax but not with most tariffs except the ones on wool and mohair, things that were important to his constituents. Garner was popular with members of the Democratic and Republican parties and he held what he referred to as "Board of Education" meetings during Prohibition, in which lawmakers used to gather to drink alcohol, or as he called it, "Strike a blow for liberty." The practice was continued by Sam Rayburn, who was the 43rd Speaker of the House. In 1932, Garner ran for the Democratic presidential nomination and decided to become Franklin D. Roosevelt's vice presidential candidate. Garner was re-elected to Congress in 1932, and elected Vice President of the United States that same year. He was the second person to serve both as the Speaker of the House and President of the US Senate. Garner was elected as Vice President again in 1936. Garner described the vice presidency as "not worth a bucket of warm piss." During his second term, he supported federal intervention to break up the Flint sit-down strike, supported balanced federal budget, and opposed the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937. Many Democratic Party leaders urged Garner to run for the presidency; he was identified as the champion of the traditional Democratic Party Establishment, which clashed with Roosevelt's New Deal. A Gallup poll showed that he was a favorite among democratic voters. Garner's last day as Vice President was January 20, 1941. After that date, he retired to his home in Texas. As of 2018, Garner was the longest-lived Vice President in United States history. Category:1868 births Category:1967 deaths Category:American politicians Category:Americans Category:Politicians Category:English-Americans Category:Protestants Category:Democratic Party members Category:Texas Democrats Category:American conservatives Category:Conservatives Category:American Vice Presidents Category:Vice Presidents Category:People from Texas